Getting into Oxford?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Oxford is my absolute DREAM school. I really wanna go there. But, it definitely seems like a long shot for me. Here are my stats, give me the cold hard truth:)</p>

<p>White female (17)
From NY
Honors Math and English in 9th/10th grades
AP European History in 10th grade (got a 4)
Now homeschooling, self-taught, taking at local community college:
American History (4.0 so far)
Next semester and next year @ community college:
English Composition (advanced)
Early British Lit
Mod British Lit or Mod American Lit
Physics (w/ lab)
French (maybe?), beginner level (never taken it before)
Possibly a Public Speaking class
Another science class, prob. some type of environmental science</p>

<p>I may take the APs in US History, English Lit and Language, if I need to. I'll take atleast the SAT II Writing test </p>

<p>At home, studying:
European Literature, currently reading 14th century works in Middle English (learning to translate to modern eng.)
Latin and Scottish Gaelic
Algebra 2, Precalc
Chemistry
Playing Clarinet (8 years)</p>

<p>Was offered a place on National Honor Roll, offered opportunities to go to workshops throughout the country at several colleges becuase of educational merit, but wasn't able to turn in apps in time becuase of confusion over how to explain homeschooling (missed deadlines trying to figure it out.... :()</p>

<p>Don't have my PSAT/SAT scores yet but aiming for atleast a 1400. I'm studying hard for it so I think a 1400 is doable.We'll see.</p>

<p>I'd like to study Modern History and English, focusing on medieval/renaissance literature and history. I would need financial aid. I don't have grades as a homeschooler, so I will have an unusual transcript.</p>

<p>Any idea what my chances might be? I hope to show them that despite a lack of grades, I'm a dedicated and independent learner, and serious about my studies. And Oxford is one of the best places to study my subject (medieval history and lit), there's not much opportunity for that here in the US, or so it seems</p>

<p>Any opinions would be really helpful! Should I go for it, or am I just lining myself up to get hurt??</p>

2

<p>You seem quite motivated, and that's what the admissions people want to see.</p>

3

<p>Plus, if you don't get in, you can always study somewhere else, and, if you still have a passion for Oxford, you can go to their grad school and become a major authority on your favorite subject. That's how I feel about MIT, anyway.</p>

4

<p>thanks for replying. Yeah, I am pretty motivated, I have some pretty big goals for myself and I really REALLY want to go to Oxford, I want to get a Ph.D. eventually. I will definitely apply to a few colleges here in the US as backups, and then I'll do what you said, go to Oxford for grad school, if I don't get in as an undergrad.
Good luck getting into MIT. I have a friend who wants to go there, sounds pretty hard to get in, but motivation is the key:) My motto for life.</p>

5

<p>Just as a sidenote, national honor roll is a complete piece of garbage. They offer it to nearly anyone with half a brain so they can steal your money. You would be wise to leave it off your application.</p>

6

<p>what i hear is that british universities are very scores oriented, especially with american applicants, because they judge british applicants mostly on their test scores on the national english exams. make sure you take a lot of ap exams and get lots of 5. you'll need to get that sat up much, much higher as well, but that can be done with extra studying. also, if you like history and lit, then make sure you take the sat ii's in world history and lit and get good scores. definetly over 750. british schools really dont look at EC's or essays much at all. so work on those sat and ap scores. good luck!</p>

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<p>I do believe Oxford requires a minimum amount of AP Classes; I really want to say 8 AP classes, but I could be wrong.</p>

<p>Best of Luck,</p>

<p>Jerod</p>

8

<p>Oxford doesn't care about EC's, so don't spend too much time worrying about those. they accept you based exclusively on your grades and test scores. you're looking good so far. keep working hard.</p>

<p>also, Oxford is very different from American universities in the sense that they don't have normal classes. instead they have "tutorals" where the professor teaches just you by yourself or you and another person.</p>

<p>btw what part of NY are you from? i have family 20 minutes north of downtown Syracuse</p>

9

<p>I thought Oxford's deadline passed?</p>

<p>(D'oh, shoulda read her stats..)</p>

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<p>Oxford and Cambrige both look for the top 2% of the nation. I don't want to say for you not to apply ifit is your dream school, but in order to have a decent shot you need AT LEAST 1500, but that's not really a competitive score, pretty much 800's on all your SAT II's (Check the percentiles), and a laundry list of 5's on your AP tests. These seem like harsh standards, but it's the truth. a 1400 is NOT going to get you in.</p>

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<p>I am a PhD student at Oxford.</p>

<p>The deadline for undergraduate applications is always 15th October for entry the following year. So you have missed the deadline if you wanted to start in October 2005 (and there is only one start date per year). </p>

<p>I totally would recommened you take the French because languages are compulsory in the UK till age 16 and many British students also have A-level French or German. Put yourself on a level playing field.</p>

<p>Don't worry about being home schooled. I know another student here who was home schooled too.</p>

<p>The posters above are pretty much correct. Lots of APs and they don't care about ECs. However, there was recently a thread of this board about Rhodes scholars. It seems that for such scholarships (and similar) ECs and commuinty activities are very important. Look up the thread, it has a link to an article about the scholars.</p>

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<p>what do you need to apply to Oxford anyway? Aren't you supposed to take some foreign exams and know 2 foreign languages or something?</p>

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<p>There used to be a list of 'matriculation requirements' that included study of a foreign language. however, the website now says the following</p>

<p>"The University no longer has formal matriculation requirements. These have been replaced by the following general requirement:</p>

<p>'In order to be admitted to matriculation, candidates must show evidence of an appropriate educational background and good standards of literacy and numeracy.* The University sets no formal 'Course Requirements' other than for the First Examination for the Degree of BM; candidates must, however, show that they are qualified to study the particular course they wish to take at Oxford. Acceptance by a college for presentation for matriculation will be deemed to be adequate evidence of an appropriate educational background, of good standards of literacy and numeracy, and of qualifications to study the course.' The University has reserved the right to require candidates to present their certificates for verification if it is deemed necessary."</p>

<p><a href="http://www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/courses/enreq.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/courses/enreq.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I was advising the poster above to study French just because a language is compulsory at British schools and these are the students you are competing with. In general, applying to universities in the UK is a million times easier than applying to the US because there is one central body, UCAS, who oversea everything and deal with all the forms.</p>

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<p>Yep.. you've missed the Oxford deadline..</p>

<p>And all UK unis don't place a lot of importance, if any, on ECs.. It's all about the grades!</p>

15

<p>I have heard that Oxford doesn't give out a lot of financial aid to students applying from the United States. Apparently one of the ways they subsidize cheaper tuition for UK students is by charging full tuition to international students. This may be an issue for you...</p>

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<p>I'm an Oxford grad (though 30 years ago.) And a homeschooling author.</p>

<p>But, sadly, there is no financial aid for non-Commonwealth students.</p>

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<p>I wasn't expecting so many replies! thanks :)
Yes, I had heard that U.S. students don't really get any financial aid, which put me off a couple years ago, when I first researched Oxford a bit. I thought I could come back and look and find some magical loophole:) That didn't happen. So, I don't think I'll be going there as an undergrad. I'll save up my money to go there for grad school and a Ph.D.
I love the idea of having tutorials, I think you'd learn so much more in that environment. And, just the look of the place is amazing. I love the ancient buildings. Last Christmas my family went to England and I begged my dad to take us to Oxford, which we did one evening, though the whole place was closed down for the holiday. Those buildings just breathe learning. It's such a cool place.
So, like I said, I'll wait for grad school to go there:)
I'm not graduating until 2006, so I wasn't looking to get in this fall.
I didn't know the National Honor Roll was a sham. Thanks for warning me! I also got the Who's Who in America, and thankfully found out about that (on this website) before applying. They really are just after your money. It's awful.
Hey, if you can recommend any U.S. colleges where I could study Medieval History and Literature, let me know. Most colleges I've looked at so far only offer a class or two on the subject.
And btw new<em>york</em>cityx, I'm from Rochester, which is about an hour west of Syracuse. The sun is out there... somewhere. hehehe
mini, that's so cool that you're a homeschooling author AND an Oxford grad, besides my interest in history, I'm really interested in educational reform and philosophies, homeschooling, trying to improve public schools, etc. Wanna suggest some of your books or articles for me? :)
thanks for all your suggestions and good luck in your studies!
~Emily</p>

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<p>You can visit my website at <a href="http://www.skylarksings.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.skylarksings.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>(I LOVED my time there, though it feels so long ago. You should know that Williams College - my other alma mater - has a long-standing Williams-in-Oxford program - and offers Oxford-style tutorials as part of its curriculum on this side of the Atlantic.)</p>

19

<p>Oxford requires music requirements? What are A/B levels?</p>

20

<p>You should try to break a 1400, but it's not necessary. (People have gotten in with as low as 1210) However, I've been told that ALL SAT II's should be 700+. (You should take atleast 3)</p>

<p>I'm applying to Modern History and English this year. Seeing as we're both Americans interested in the same subject, it might be a good idea to start a correspondence. (And you can learn from my mistakes when I get rejected later this month.) I just had an interview last November 9th in New York.</p>

<p>The deadline is October 15th for the British, but October 1st for Americans. You should seriously have thoroughly looked over the website and requested Prospectus by now. As a person applying to a foreign school, a message board should not be your first source of information. (And if you have, then sorry for the reprimand.)</p>

<p>Anyway, you should call them up directly. The Admissions office responds rather promptly to email, but it wouldn't be a good idea to annoy them with an extra long message (because your dilemma does require a lot of time to explain.) I'm not sure if the UK has homeschooling, so if they don't understand it, give evidence that it is a valid educational system. Give proof of your SAT I & II scores, because they don't really require a transcript for American students. And unless they're relevent to your chosen subject, your extra-curriculars don't matter either.</p>

<p>Good luck to you.</p>

<p>Edit: Check these out: <a href="http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.thestudentroom.co.uk&lt;/a> and <a href="http://www.oa.waveflex.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.oa.waveflex.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>